Home of Your Own: Living the American Dream

For years while Lori Fox rented an apartment in Concord, NH, her family lived in fear that Lori might one day be evicted because of her developmental disability, her mental health issues, and her need for around-the-clock support. But thanks to the Home of Your Own project, Lori will never have to face that possibility again.

Last summer, Lori became the 79th person in the state of New Hampshire to purchase a home through the Home of Your Own project, a joint effort by the IOD and the Center for Housing and New Community Economics (CHANCE) to help people with disabilities purchase affordable housing. By working with NH Housing, Concord Area Trust for Community Housing (CATCH), Community Bridges, the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities, and the Community Loan Fund, the IOD and CHANCE are able to work out the details of mortgages, down payments, closing costs, and other fees in order to make home ownership feasible for people with disabilities. Thanks to this collaborative effort, Lori is living independently in her first-floor condo in downtown Concord, just blocks from her services and favorite activities.

"We had known about the Home of Your Own project since it started at the IOD," said Sue Fox, Lori's mother and IOD employee, "but we didn't think about it for Lori until last year. Now, she's living the American dream of owning her own home, an opportunity that isn't given to many people with disabilities."

For more information on the Home of Your Own project, visit the CHANCE website at chance.unh.edu.